Journal Abstracts

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This article addresses the function and value of joy in pregnancy. Beginning by addressing the lack of scientific studies of joy, moving on to discuss joy as depicted in art and poetry, then delving into scientific studies of other emotions, the author leads us through the practical applications of this knowledge to the wonderful conclusion that the function of joy in pregnancy is to protect the unborn child against the effects of the harmful stress hormones and, further, that this ultimately affects the adult individual and the culture as a whole.

An adaptive lens widens the exploration of postpartum depression to include the consideration of a mother's own primal history and its resurgence through the initiation of childbirth, her preparedness to thus "meet herself" and be seen by her baby, her experience of labor, birth, and the postpartum period; implications for a healthy attachment with her child and thus that child's lifelong development; and a call to recognize postpartum non-separation as an essential protective factor against postpartum depression.

Based on her presentation at the APPPAH Congress in Los Angeles, February, 2007, and her experience in training doctors, nurses, and first responders how to speak in medical emergencies, Dr. Prager (2002) focuses in this article on the essential and biological nature of rapport and bonding in the socialization of mammals, from the earliest prenatal influences on, and the deleterious effects of their absence to all of society and the future.

This article reveals the discoveries of Varenka and Olivier Marc in their research of children's drawings from around the world. Since the 1950s, Varenka and Olivier Marc have extensively collected and studied children's (from 13 months to 3 years old) drawings during their trips around the globe (40 countries). Many of the graphics amazingly portray embryonic and fetal stages of the human body. How come little ones can depict histological and anatomical stages of human intra-uterine growth?

World population is predicted to leap from 6.5 billion today to 9.5 billion by 2050 AD. With increased pressures on humanity, we must find better ways to protect unborn and new born babies and their mothers from the dire consequences overshadowing our relationships before, during, and after birth. This paper explores a variety of What if... scenarios and themes. Hatred and prejudice as well as love and respect begin in pregnancy. Prenatal Education can be a key to a future sane world.

As attachment parenting has become more popular, many feminists condemn it as fundamentally oppressive to mothers. Their critique is based on misinterpretation and misrepresentation of attachment theory, the neuro-psychological body of research that underlies attachment parenting. In contravention of the great weight of scientific evidence, many feminists downplay the nurturance needs of young children as a defensive measure against the neo-conservative backlash against changing women's roles.

This article presents a clinical story of a one-session therapeutic intervention for a young boy's lifelong eating phobia as an example of an integrated therapeutic approach utilizing prenatal and perinatal psychology (PPN) understanding of early experiences as potential origins for life patterns and an energy psychology healing modality intervention-emotional freedom technique (EFT). Key principles of the Integrated Model and corresponding elements of an integrated therapeutic approach are presented. The session took place without the child present.

This qualitative study was designed to explore the childbirth expectations of primiparas' (women pregnant for the first time) in light of current scientific understandings of consciousness. In-depth before-and-after-birth interviews were conducted. Explicit expectations were compared with implicit expectations portrayed through drawings of an ideal birth (a projective technique) rendered during the first interview. Participants experienced outcomes that differed from their conscious expectations.

This article is an updated review of the literature on the long term consequences of birth. Current literature reviewed includes the topics of autism, juvenile criminality, drug addiction, anorexia nervosa, asthma, exposure of antibiotics during pregnancy, the behavioural effects of hormones, and caesarean sections and is offered from a primal health perspective. The article closes with recommendations the profound changes that need to be made if this vision of childbirth is to be brought to a broader audience.

The birthing experience may be perceived as a traumatic in women who present with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet a woman's view can change if she gains knowledge about the birth experience. Narrative debriefing, for example, is a source of validation, through the telling and listening of birth narratives. Further, by reading books and articles, taking mental notes, and comparing outcomes women can reevaluate their own experiences and their perceptions change as a result. Women may require repetitive debriefing to facilitate healing from birth-related trauma.